The people’s court

Almost a year after officials initially hoped to launch Dane County’s “community court,” the program is set to take its first cases next week.

Though delayed, officials say the one-of-a-kind program will prove worth the wait.

“We’re creating something completely new here, so we wanted to make sure we got it right,” Dane County Supv. Sheila Stubbs says of the delay.

More time was needed “getting the logistics together and making sure we have all of the policy and practices in place before we launched” because the local program is using new strategies not employed in similar programs elsewhere, says Stubbs. Stubbs authored the provision to create the program as part of the 2014 county budget.

Called the Community Restorative Court, the program will serve as an alternative to the traditional judicial system for young suspects charged with some misdemeanor crimes.

Instead of facing a formal criminal charge, those suspected of a crime will meet with a panel of community members, who will decide on sanctions and use social services to address why the crime was committed and prevent future brushes with the law.

If the suspects complete certain requirements, which may include restitution, counseling and volunteer work, any record of the crime will be erased.

Being branded as a criminal in young adulthood makes it difficult to obtain housing and find work, and can contribute to a downward spiral of criminal behavior, experts say.

The CRC was primarily created with the long-term goal of decreasing the disparity in how whites and blacks are treated in the county’s criminal justice system. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne believes the CRC is “going to become a national model.”

“When you are in a situation like we are — where the data shows we are the worst in the nation — no matter what you do, it will impact those numbers,” he says. “And this program will also have an impact in the short term because we’re going to be able to keep [young offenders] out of the system.”

The criteria for suspects — or “respondents,” as they’re being called — to be accepted into the CRC pilot program are narrow. Respondents must be between 17 and 25 years old and have committed one of a few select misdemeanor crimes — disorderly conduct, theft, simple battery, obstruction of justice or damage to property — within the Madison Police Department’s south district. Only first-time offenders are eligible.

CRC coordinator Ron Johnson, who’s been a teacher and a principal, worked in gang diversion in Milwaukee and studied restorative justice at Marquette University, says police will nominate suitable candidates for the program.

Johnson will then meet with the respondent and explain the program. If the respondent decides to participate, a panel of community members — known as “peacekeepers” — enters the picture.

“At this point, [the peacekeepers and I] talk with the respondent about what they did, how did they feel when they did it, how do they think the victim felt — and we allow the victim ample opportunity to face the person who violated them and to talk about it,” explains Johnson. “Then we would all come to an agreement of the sanctions imposed.”

Then the respondent, the victim, the peacekeepers and Johnson sign a contract detailing the sanctions, he says. One of the peacekeepers is then assigned to monitor the respondent.

The peacekeepers — who Johnson describes as “teachers, preachers and stakeholders” from the community — “walk hand-in-hand with [the respondents] to make sure they complete the program and comply,” he says, adding that they’ll “do the heavy lifting” of the program.

During the sanction phase of the process, respondents will be required to complete objectives such as community service or paying to replace or repair damaged property.

But a major part of what Johnson calls “the healing phase” of the process will include letters of apology and participating in programs such as anger management, alcohol and drug therapy, job training and counseling.

Adds Johnson, “Services will be offered not only to the respondent, but also the respondent’s family, as well as victims and their families.”

Johnson hopes to have initial meetings with respondents every other Thursday and says the program could grow from serving a handful of cases at first to dozens each month.

Respondents who fail to complete the sanctions imposed or decline the program will be sent back to the traditional judicial system.

The CRC is the first government-run program of its kind in Madison, but it’s not the first local restorative justice program. YWCA Madison started a restorative justice program in the Madison school district three years ago; it has since expanded to programs in the Middleton-Cross Plains, Monona Grove, Oregon, Sun Prairie and Verona school districts.

While the CRC is modeled after restorative justice programs in New York City and Baltimore, the most innovative part of the local program is the complete removal of the usual judicial players.

“Our model is one-of-a-kind primarily because of our use of community volunteers in the decision-making process,” says Johnson of the peacekeepers’ role. “Other restorative programs use community volunteers; that’s pretty common. But to replace the traditional justice system — judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bailiffs — with community volunteers is quite another thing.”

So far, there are 23 peacekeepers, all of whom have received extensive training through UW-Madison’s Restorative Justice Project.

Because the program is volunteer based, an additional benefit of the CRC will be cost savings. Instead of the thousands of dollars per case spent on lawyers, law enforcement, jails and judges, estimates show that each case that goes through the program will cost roughly $200, says Supv. Sharon Corrigan, chair of the Dane County Board. The total budget for the CRC this fiscal year is about $85,000, which includes Johnson’s salary, rent for his office space at Centro Hispano and peacekeeper training.

“I have had a handful of loved ones go through the criminal justice system to varying degrees and have seen them struggle to get their feet back on the ground,” she says, adding that the stigma of a criminal record makes people “look at offenders as merely statistics.”

“Restorative justice gives victims and the community a chance to view offenders in a more human light,” she says. “I want to help offer opportunities for individuals to learn from their mistakes and move forward instead of just getting stuck in the system and becoming another statistic.”

The whole program hinges on community volunteers like Reece, says Johnson.

“The CRC project design is absolutely dependent on community volunteer support,” he says, adding that the larger impact crime has on the community cannot be dismissed.

“Healing the community is the ultimate goal of restorative justice. [It’s] more important than the offender’s case,” says Johnson. “Whenever there’s a crime in the community, there’s always more than one victim — it’s a ripple effect. When a crime is committed, it’s not only a crime against the state, but it’s a violation of relationships within the community; that’s why the community has to be involved in repairing the harm.”